Greeting card and envelope assembly



W. C. BAYN ES GREETING CARD AND ENVELOPE ASSEMBLY I June 16, 1953 Filed Oct. 25. 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 MLL/FM C. BFY/VES;

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June 16, 1953 w, c, BAYNES 2,642,182 K GREETING CARD AND ENVELOPE ASSEMBLY I Filed Oct. 23. .1947 4 Sheet s-Sheet 2 Z Z W 00 l 1: I M v QJ June 16, 1953 w. c. BAYNES GREETING CARD AND ENVELOPE ASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 25,1947

June 16, 1953 w. CJBAYNES 2,642,182

-GREETING CARD AND ENVELOPE ASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 25. 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented June 16, 3:.

GREETING CARD AND ENVELOPE ASSEMBLY William 0. Base, Washington, D. 0. Application October 25;, 1947, Serial No. 731,579

- This invention relates-to-improvements in the corner assembly of greeting cards and envelopes whereby-the card and envelope are maintainedin the desired relation for retail sellingan'd provision is made at the same time for price'marking and the name of the individual retailer;

"The extremely large volume of greeting card sales and the amazing growth in size ofthe bu'si ness; of small retailers of greeting-cards have; called for more efficient and more satisfactory means of price marking and associating a greeting card with the envelope therefor. It is wholly unsatisfactory to apply the priceto cartons from which the cards and their matched envelopes are taken by a customer because the cardsffare frequently returned to the wrongcartonf'and the" envelopes tend to become separatedand soiled by handling and dropping. The direct application of price designation to individual cards or their: envelopes is slow and tedious and quite obj'ectionable because of defacement and themed for I erasure at the time: of sale. Present practices include the association of greeting cards and their envelopes by means of metallic clipsi'which hold a price ticket against a face of -thei'card,

which is ordinarily examined by aprospective buyer. While reasonably eflicient machines have 1 been provided for such clip ticket associating, the

cards tend tobecome marred by indentation or bending producedby the metallic clip, and often the clip-itself becomes corroded and marks the card'so as to render it unsalable. Such clipping machines involve a substantial capital investment by'the card retailer and substantial added overhead costs in the'way of clip material and labor. I

It is therefore the principal object of' this ina 2'Claims. (01. 206-63) 'ofthe envelope. Inthe preferredassembly with such a card, the'envelope is inserted between the back two sheets'of thecard and the corner mem- 'b'er 'is seeured'in place by an adhesively coated portion arranged to engage a concealed surface of the card. The corner member provides exposed surfacesextending'beyond the lower righthand corner of a card having'its vertical fold line vention to provide a 'simpleand secure assembly a of conventional greeting card and conventional envelope by means of a small corner member of paper or the like carrying the price and any other desirable printing matter adhesively secured to,

anunexposedor undecorated face of the card and readily detachable from the card and envelope at.

. o .7 Where the word card is used hereinit is mthe time of sale.

tended to mean any conventional card such as those formed by a single sheet, folded sheets; French-folded sheet-cards, and other fiat cards,

except where a more limitedmeaning is ascribed. Likewise, the term envelope is to be taken'in a-"broad sense to include any conventional typeflat envelope which is suitable for the purpose unless specially qualified. I

accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention a French-folded greeting card is associated with a conventional envelope of normally greater length and width bymeans of a pa'perdike corner member which is folded to proyide a retainingpocket for an extending corner on the'left side,'which-s'ur'faces will carry the price marking and any desired proprietary designation. a

The most inexpensive and preferred forrn'of the corner member is formed from a'relatively thin rectangular stripo'fpaper or the like and requires only two simple, symmetrically disposed bends in its formation. 7 Preferablythe adhesive is carried on an end portion of the thus formed corner member and scoring, perforatiomor similar weakening provisionisfl -made" for its detachment when the corner member is removed and the {card and envelope separatedat the time of Y sale,

Further extensions and modifications of this corner member principle include a corner member formed as a triangular-pocket having an opening slit'onits hypotenuse and provided with a small adhesive area on a face adapted to engage an unexposed surface'of a French-folded card. In thismodification, the adhesive may be carried by a" detachable tab portion as in the principal embodiment, and. the apex maybe removed so that theenvelopecorner protrudes.

In a stillfurther modification the corner member is reducedto its simplest jform 'bythe single 'folding'on itself of a'p'referably rectangular paper strip so as to providean extending portion at one end carrying adhesive on its card-engagirigface and constructed for ready separation from the remaining portion of the corner member.

, 'While this invention is concerned primarily with various assemblies of greeting cards and their envelopes with a corner member of the character indicated, invention as articles of manufacture alsore'sides in the cornermembers" n prepared blank form and also foldedto provide a finished corner member.

These and. other features ofimprovement con 1 tributing to economy in manufacture, simplicity in use and commercial acceptability of the greeting card and envelope assembly will be more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of this invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which 1 is a partially exploded perspective view, of a French-folded card, its-envelope, and the retaining corner member with which they are associated; 1 V

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view sh0W-" mg the assembled relation of the ea ner member on line Fig. 6 is a fragmentary enlarged elevation ofthe card, envelope and cornermember of Fig. in assembled relation;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the assembly of Fig. 6 taken on line VII-VII;

Fig. 8 is an .elevational view of a different form of greeting card in assembled relation with its envelope and two corner members;

Fig. 9 is a plan view showing in blank form the corner member-used in the modification in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the blank of Fig. 9

folded to form a completed corner member;

Fig. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a French-folded greeting card and its envelope with a corner member formed as a two-layer triangular pocket;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary elevation to an enlarged scale showing the assembly of the card, envelope and corner member of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly taken on line X[IIXIII of Fig. 12;

Fig. 1; is a fragmentary perspective view of a French-folded card, its envelope and a variation of the triangular corner member of Fig. 11;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary elevation of the card, envelope and corner member of Fig. 14 in final assembled relation; I

Fig. 16 is a plan view of the blank used for the corner member of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 17 is a plan view from the reverse side of the blank of Fig. 16 after it has been folded to define a corner member;

Fig. 18 is a plan view of the blank of a corner member corresponding to that of Fig. 5;

Fig. 19 is a plan view of the blank of Fig. 18

as seen from the oppositev side and folded to.

form the corner member;

Fig. 20 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view showing a French-folded'card, its envelope and a difierent form of corner member;

Fig. 21 is a partial elevation to enlargedscale of the card, envelope and .corner member of Fig. 20 in final assembled relation;

Fig. 22 is a fragmentary end view of the assembly of Fig. 21;

Fig. 23 is a corresponding end view showing a slightly different arrangement of the corner member with respect to the card; and

Fig. 24, which is a corresponding end elevation of a card, envelope and corner member assembly,

shows a still further modification.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4, a conventional greeting card of the French-folded type is associated with an envelope 32 which will necessarily be slightly larger in its length and breadth than the card, said card comprising an inner fold or layer 34 and an outer fold or layer 36. The-card 30 and envelope 32 aremaintained securelyin the desired assembled relation by acorner mem ber 38, as shown best-in Fig. 3.

The corner member 38 may sheet-like material having sufficient stiffness, al-

though ordinary ap ls rips, of. e on a ed r c;

beformed ,of-any :sion or tab 48 which is readily detachable by means of the transverse line of perforations 50. The under face of the tab portion 48, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, is provided with a coating 52 of any suitable adhesive.

In assembly, the corner member 38 may first be placed over the lower right corner of the envelope 32 in such a manner that when the envelope is inserted between the layers or sheets 34 and 36 of the card 30, the adhesive coating 52 will be in engagement with the inner surface of the back sheet 36, which surface is normally unexposed. After the adhesive layer 52 has been activated. as-by the application of moisture, heat, pressure, etc, the card 30 and envelope 32 will be securely assembled in the relation shown in Fig. 3. The upper end of the envelope 32- is also anchored with its left corner coinciding with the intersection of the two folds of the Frenchfolded card.

This arrangement supports the horizontal edge of the envelope 32 adjacent its free projecting corner portion and permits the card and envelope to be picked up together for inspection without any danger of separation and with the indioia 42 clearly visible to the would-be purchaser. After a sale has been made, a downward and outward pull on the envelope 32 will break the ,The adhesive of layer 52'may be any one of a large variety which are commercially available, such as the moisture-activated or pressure-sensitive types, aprincipal requirement being that the adhesive selected will not appreciably wet and thus mar or otherwise damage the card to which it is directly connected. The leaving of the tab extension 48 adhered to the unexposed surface of the outer card layer 36 is desirable as it presents a smooth surface rather than a rough, less sightly one of adhesive, as would be the case if the adhesive bond were peeled or broken when the corner 38 was completely removed.

In the card and-envelope assembly illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, a slightly modified corner member 3811 is employed. In this corner member the leg strips 44a and 46a are arranged so as to be partially visible when the assembly is viewed from the front in normal fashion, as in Fig. 6. Accordingly, the price and other indioia 42a are placed on the exposed portion of these strips rather than on the connecting strip lllwhich is no longer visible. The'leg strip 440. is provided, as before, with a tab extension 480. connected by a transverse line of perforations 50a. It is to be particularly noted that the adhesive layer 52a is on the upper face of the corner member 3811, as viewed in Fig. 5, in order that it may be secured to the unexposed face of the inner card fold 34, rather than the outer fold, as was the aeeaisz:

case'intheFig. 1 embodiment. Asjt is less desirable to have the adhesivefcoated tab 48 remain on the, envelope, thisrearrangement again places it on an unexposed surface-andata sum-. cient distance inward'irom the lower right corner. of the card 32 toinsure a stableassembly. A slight advantage may be obtained with this transposition by using the 2 connecting strip 40a to lock the corner of the outer cardfold 3B in position, although this is not absolutely essential. v

A comparison of the relative length of thejleg strips for corner members 38 and 3811 shows that a perfectly satisfactory arrangement jean be achieved with leg strips'of; equal lengthes providedinFig. 5.

' In Figs. 8, 9 and 10, a corner member 381), corresponding closely'to 38a of; Fig. 5, is employed" somewhat differently in the assembly of a greeting card 30b and its envelope 32; It will be observed that the card 30bvis-of thetwofold, cutout type, which does-not providetheponvenient unexposed surfaces found in the French-folded card. In order to adapt the corner member of this invention to such a card it is necessary to use a second corner member 38b in diagonally opposite position at the upper left. corner of the card and envelope; That is to say, the envelope 32' is "not interleaved with the twofold'card 30b but the back surface of the latter is placed over the back face of the envelopeso as to retain the flap closure 33. The adhesive layers 52b of the respective corner member tabs 481) are arranged to engage the back face of the card 3%. This backface is not ordinarily examined at the time of sale or any other time, so that it is relatively unobjectionable to leave the tabs48b adhered thereon when the corner members 38b are removed and the card 30b and envelope 32 separated, Inview, however, of this exposure of the tabs or extensions 48b, the latter may be die out to a pleasing configurationandcoloredor decorated in any way that may be desirable.

As in the case of the corner member of Fig. 6,

corner member 3% displays the printing or other indicia 42b on the exposed faces of the leg strips 441) and 46b where viewable bythe customer when the card and envelope are picked up inthe normal manner for inspection- The cOrnermember 38b arranged in the manner describeddo'es not interfere with the opening of the twofold card 30b for inspection of the sentiment which usuallyappears on the inner face of the back fold.

The blank from which the corner m m er 3st" is formedand the simple twofold operation required to complete the corner member from the blank have been generally described and are clearly illustrated by Figs. 9 and 10. g

In Figs. 11, 12 and 13; another pocket form of corner member 380 is used to maintain a Frenchfolded card 30 and its-envelope 32 in assembled relation with the envelope between the inner and outer folds 3.4 and 36 of the card.

Referring to the exploded perspective view of Fig. 11, attention is directed to 'the two-ply con- ;structionpf the corner pocket member 380, which;

ma Q' even l a on m c e rm from paper. The corner member, 38c has adjar centseams or fold lines arranged at rightangles to .eachother and spanned at their ends'byan entrance slot defined by layers or plies "62; and 64. An adhesive area orgspot 66 on theouter face of the layer 64 is disposedto 'engagethe ad.- jacent unexposed surface of the inner fold '34 after the corner member 38c is slipped over the lower right corner of the envelope 32 and inserted therewith ,between'thefolds 34 and 36.. In

, locked in position by the joint action of the corner member 380 and the engagement of its left and upper edges with the intersecting folds of the French-folded card 30. The indicia 42c are arranged along the marginal portions of the layer '54 so as to be visible when the card and envelope assembly are inspected before sale. The location of the adhesive connection between the card fold 34 and the corner member 380 near the lower corner of the card provides maximum effectiveness against relative turning of card and envelope.

A simple outward diagonal pull on the corner pocket member 380 will break the adhesive connection, releasing the envelope 32 from the card 36 and the corner member fromthe envelope.

A slightly modified form of the cornerpocket member is illustrated in Figs. 14 andl5 In this case a pocket member'fifidis formed with folded edges and 12 at right angles to each other so that pocket layers orplies 62d and 64d define opposed slits through which the corner of the envelope32 extends. A central tab extension Hi on the inner edge of the layer 6401 is provided with an adhesive coating 76 and'connected by a scored line 18 to said layer.

Fig. 15 shows the arrangement of price and other indicia .80 and 82 on the exposed vertical and horizontal marginal portions of. the corner member 38d in its assembled relation to card and envelope.

It-will be understood that the adhesive layer or coating '16 is secured to the unexposed face of the card fold 34 and remains thereon when the-corner member 38d is separated by an outer downward pull which frees the envelope 32from thev card 39 and the corner member from both.

The detailed nature of the corner members and the blanks from which they are formed will be further explained with reference to Figs. 16 to 19.

- It-is contemplated that the slightly different cor-- ner members 38 and 38a represented by Figs. 17, and 19, respectively, will be supplied in the blank form as shown in Figs. 16 and 18, either with or without the price-and other indicia 42 and 42a. These blanks may be provided'in tab-let or other vertically assembled groups so that they may be mechanically; 4

The blank for corner member 3822 in Fig. 16 comprises an elongated rectangular strip of paper or the like having the requisite'properties and provided with predisposed fold lines 42 and 43 extending across the blank in the right angular relation necessary to form the triangular shaped corner member with extending parallel leg strips. It is to be understood that the fold lines may be produced simply by imprinting, or by scoring, partial indentation and any other way that will influence the strip material to bend in the specifi ed manner. I

So also may the tab extensionddbermade detachable byyheavy scoring-or partial severing as well as by the line of perforations 50. The strips readily separated and folded either manually or in blank form will be supplied with the layer of adhesive, 52 or 52a; on the proper face.

1. The relative proportions of the diflerent parts of, the corner member are nottoo critical as longas a corner member is defined which hasiits corner of the envelope, and parallel leg strips of is open so that the tip of the corner portion may be locked by projection therethrough. The leg strip portions 44, i and 44a, 46a are thus given added spacing in order that the corner members 38 and 38a will act more efficiently.

The corner member of this invention has been reduced to its simplest form in the modification illustrated by Figs. 20 to 24. Referring to Fig. 20, a corner or envelope retaining member 38c is formed by a single folding of a rectangular strip of paper to provide a long leg Me and a' short leg Ate in superposed relation. The long strip Me has a transverse line of perforations 50c near its end defining an extension or tab 48c coated with an adhesive 522 on its outer face. This configuration defines a'pocket or loop 40c between the superposed legs for receiving a portion of the outer projecting corner of envelope 32, as shown best in Fig. 21. The envelope 32 is interleaved as before between the inner and outer folds or sheets 34 and 36 of the French-folded card 30. This arrangement presents a marginal portion of the corner member 38c beyond the lower edge of the card so that price or other indicia 426 will be plainly visible when the card is normally inspected, closed or opened. It is necessary that at least one of the leg strips or plies 44c and 46e be inserted between the two back sheets 34 and 36 of the card. By preference both strips are thus inserted as shown in Fig. 22, with the longer strip 446 having a direct adhesive connection with the unexposed face of the back sheet 36 of the card. The unsecured leg strip 46a is quite adequately retained by the inner sheet 34 of the opened card and even more securely when the card 30 is in completely closed relation.

The efficiency of the supporting action of the envelope retaining members 38c increases with the distance from the vertical fold of the card 30. It will be apparent that the more remote the member 38e is from the vertical fold line, the greater will be the lever by which it supports.

As the paper or similar material used for the corner member 38c has at least a moderate degree of stiffness, it is also possible to position the shorter unsecured leg 466 over the exposed face of the inner card fold 34 in the manner illustrated by the end view of Fig. 23. After creasing of the connecting bend or pocket 406, the unsecured strip 466 will have a tendency to hug the surface which it overlies and will normally be clamped somewhat by the card 30 when it is completely closed.

The card, envelope, and pocket corner assembly shown by the fragmentary end view of Fig. 4 involves only a slight modification of the arrangement shown in Figs. 21 and 22, it being noted that in the case of Fig. 2'4,the strips of the member 38c are of equal length and the adhesive layer 526 connects with the unexposed surfac of the inner card fold 34.

The card 30, envelope 32 and pocket member We can be most readily separated from each other bygrasping the indicia bearing portion 42c so as to squeeze together the member 406 and the envelope 32, whereupon a slight downward pull will accomplishthe separation, leaving the tab extension 48c adheredto the unexposed face of the card fold 36.

Although preferred embodiments and several modifications of the greeting card and envelope assembly of'this invention and the essential corner member have been described in considerable detail, it will be understood that numerous other variations may be made in details of structure, proportions, and arrangement of parts without departure from the principles of the invention and the scopeof the appended claims.

The present application is a continuation in part of application Serial No. 749,748, filed May 22, 1947, now Patent No. 2,497,064.

Having thus described my invention, what 'I claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United-States is:

1. The combination comprising a French-folded greeting card, an envelope of greater dimension than the card interleaved between the two sheets of said card with adjacent edges of the envelope respectively abutting the horizontal and vertical folds of said card when the card is closed, a separate envelope retaining member for supporting the projecting horizontal edge portion of the envelope at a point remote from the vertical fold of the card, said member being formed by an elongated flexible strip bent on itself to provide two overlying legs and arranged so that said horizontal edge portion of the envelope rests in the bent portion between the two legs and the legs engage the opposite sides of the envelope under the sheets of said card, and a direct adhesive connection between one leg of said member-and the adjacent unexposed face of the card, said member having price indicia on a portion not covered by the card.

2. The combination comprising a Frenchfolded greeting card, an envelope of greater dimension than the card interleaved between the two sheets of said card with adjacent edges of the envelope respectively abutting the horizontal and vertical folds of said card when the card is closed, a separate paper-like envelope retaining member of at least two plies having a connecting fold, said retaining member being remote from the vertical fold of the card and arranged to receive a portion of the horizontal edge of the envelope that is remote from said vertical fold in the fold between said plies with one of said plies engaging each side of the envelope under the sheets of said card, and a direct adhesive connection between one of said plies and the adjacent unexposed face of the card, said retainin member having price indicia on a portion not covered by the card.

WILLIAM C. BAYNES.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 949,201 Shaw Feb. 15, 1910 1,756,216 'Seeley Apr. 29, 1930 1,994,673 Steinthal Mar. 19, 1935 2,059,092 Donovan Oct. 27, 1936 2,292,924 Bourke Aug. 11, 1942 2,323,653 Fowler, Jr. July 6, 1943 2,336,867 Huber Dec. 14, 1943 2,350,149 Coakley, Jr. May 30, 1944 

